Official Luthiers Forum!

I can't help it.....gotta tell someone other than my wife cuz she just rolls her eyes........

I just ordered my first guitar kit from LMI....I got a completely UN-SERVICED kit so that I can do everything myself. They were able to find a Granadillo back and sides set with sap wood on the back AND the sides.

Adirondack top....

I can't wait.......I'm calling in sick every day till it gets here.......no wait....I can't do that...I'm self employed.....I guess I could fire myself......and then re-hire myself...

Did I mention I can't wait?......Geeeeezzzz......I'll be 40 in October this year....no wonder my wife is rolling her eyes.........OH WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

Congrats on the purchase! I'm sure you will find enough info here to help you with every step of the build. Cant wait to see your progress pics too!

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Reguards,

Ken H

I know the feeling. Congratulations. May as well work till it gets there. Then you can fire yourself.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Get ready to start spending a lot og money on more zoot. You cant buy just one.

Yep...your life is OVER. Welcome to the sickness.

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Oh....Pictures?....you can be sure I am going to post pics....

Dudes and Pics.....that's kinda like........Pamela Anderson and.........no wait......

Luthiers and Tonewoods..........yeah....that's it....


...and i get to buy more tools too..

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

QUICK!!! Return it before you get caught in this.....

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Too late...He's DOOMED!

I remember when I got my first from John...That was 3 guitars ago and waaaayy to much pretty wood in my shop, along with jigs, tools, books, etc... Yep, he's doomed!

It's a whole lotta fun though! Congrats~!

Ray

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Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

I can't wait to post a pick of the Granadillo back and sides......suuuwwweeeeeeeettttttt.

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

Love granadillo sapwood. See shameless plug below...

You're going to have a lot of fun working through it. Congrats

Hi,

Congrads on your order. I too am going to start my first build towards end of this month and can share your excitement.

Just out of curiosity, what is the difference between Unserviced kit and scratch build? I understand the benefit of a serviced kit but don't know why you wouln't want to scratch build if you are capable or/and have the tools to do the hard work.

thanks, David

I may be wrong, but I think they're essentially the same thing.. it's just that a kit provides all of the parts you would need to build from scratch. If you actually go out and buy all of the materials yourself separately, though, I think there's probably little difference between that and an unserviced kit in terms of labor. Anyone feel free to jump in a correct me if I'm wrong.. ^^;;

You are correct. A "kit" is a misnomer. Don't worry! Nothing has been done for you so you won't miss out on any of the fun!
Now if you get the "serviced kit" from LMI some stuff has been done for you. This is a viable option for those who don't have a lot of shop space or tools needed for specific steps.

Sniggly,

Your enthusiasm is contagious! Good luck with the build and be sure to watch the DVD.

You do get some discount relative to the cost of the individual items, so that's a reason to get the unserviced kit if you were wanting to get everything from LMI in the first place.

Plus, you get a cool DVD by some guy named O'Brien!

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Well let me just lay it all out there.

I have been surfing this site for a very long time....so much so that I could speak the language of guitar making and you'd never know I have never made one. I have been on Shane's site...Colonial....RC....Hibdon......WestPenn......you name it.

I chose to use LMI's kit wizard for my first order simply because on 1 page (on my computer screen) I had a list of every potential piece of material I could possibly need to build a guitar right in front of me....again...on one page. That one page eliminated the need for ME, the builder that has never built, to know off the top of my head...every piece of material I might need to build a guitar.

Now my personality and my woodworking experience demanded that I get the kit in an completely unserviced form. I want to do EVERYTHING myself.

I will say this however...for the wood sponsors on this site....you all deserve cudos for the methods in which you display your woods. In other words I can't view the exact piece that I am getting from LMI. In fact I had to call them to make sure they were sending me what I wanted. So where one may have the 'oneup'....the other has the other 'oneup'...geeeezzz....say that 10 times with a cookie in your mouth.

To define 'serviced' a little more...you can have LMI do all the joining for the back and top...they will bend the sides for you...they will inlay the rosette for you....etc etc etc.

Not for me...I am going to learn this craft.....and hopefully one day.....When I am 55 or so....I can sit in an air conditioned shop and make guitars.....rather than worry about keeping a landscape company up and running...in Florida...where it rains a lot...and the business competition is tuff....mostly from non-english speaking folk that will work for far less than I will....and so on....

I am a man with a dream....

How did I get here from LMI's 'serviced'...'unserviced' thing.....

Hey Terry......can you elaborate on HOW the guitar sounds...the one you built with Granadillo....I would love to hear what you have to say.

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

Well, It has an Engelman top, and I splayed the tone bars more than you usually see. I hated how dark it sounded for the first year or so. It has opened up in the 2 years it's been built. One thing I would do differently on the sister guitar (Yes, I got 2 when I ordered) is to brace the back a little lighter. The wood I got has a bit mottling, which I often don't care for, but this guitar is beautiful, and sounds very good now. It's a fairly hard wood, maybe some silica content, but quite workable. Don't have any bending tips, just use a fox bender. I have bent only one set of Granadillo, so I can't advise on temp or moisture. SOOOOO... I would definitely use the Supersoft II veneer softener before bending. I didn't. I had a small kink at the waist that I BARELY got out in the sanding process. I now have Supersoft II AND a bending iron (Thanks Doc!) so I can tackle about anything. I'm sure when you have ANY need, you'll like get an answer here.

Show us a pic or two, one dry and one wet with naptha or paint thinner would be great for reference for those who follow behind.

BTW one of the goals I have is to get clips recorded and uploaded. something that will improve my marketability. That'd be a good thread. Other forums have that info, it bears repeating over here though

When you say dark....can you give a reference or clarify....for example in my opinion maple backed guitars always sound 'poppy' and really bright.....

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.